South Africa to Santa Barbara Day 18: Is Replay Needed at the World Cup?

Jun 28, 2010

A slew of questionable and missed calls by officials has
the soccer world pondering whether existing technology should be
utilized during games.

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Early on in this World Cup, United States' fans and players were
upset - and rightly so - with the refereeing, most notably in the
match against Slovenia when Koman Coulibaly ruled against what
would have been a victorious goal for the U.S.

If Major League Baseball can accept rule changes and institute
replay for certain aspects of its games, then soccer can too. MLB
is kind of like The Master's - an old boys club that follows rules
set in place decades ago. Why? "Because that's the way we've always
done it," the responses ring.

Rather than just accepting things as they were, FIFA needs to
accept things as they are. With billions of fans watching
worldwide, the governing rules of soccer need to act appropriately.
If everyone with a television set can see something (such as an
apparent goal), then the referees need to be informed of that
too.

No replays should be done like the NFL, where the 90-second
review rule is a suggestion rather than an enforcement, causing as
much stoppage time as playing time. It slows down the action with
the possibility of four challenges a game between two teams and
replays within the final two minutes of each half. Yawn. It kills
momentum.

But, there should be something - anything - to determine if
there is a goal or not. Especially on the world's biggest stage.
The head referee should have the ability to review goals. That's
it. Not offsides. Not penalties. Not the flops. Just goals.

They are so few and far between that a goal can mean a team's
advancement or four more years of consternation. For FIFA to defend
itself and say nothing will change is to live in an era when there
is no replays, no camera angles from every corner of the pitch, no
super-duper slow motion.

If the average fan can see all of this and every play-by-play
and analyst can debate it mere seconds after it happened, why can't
the supposed top officials in the biggest tournament in the
world?

Make the change, FIFA. If you want people to continue to believe
in the power of the World Cup, to not brush your organization off
as a joke, as old-timey and short-sighted, you need to move
forward. Even step into the year 2000. It would be better than
where you are now.

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